A pair of porcelain apothecary jars from the turn of the century with gilt serpent handles and a hand painted floral design signed G Roitel.

One jar reads; “il n’y a de bonheur parfait qu’avec un mauvais coeur et un bon estomac – Fontenelle” the other “Ou le coeur manque rein ne supplee – Michelet” .The bottom border of each of the lid and the jars are also gilt and in the classic Greek Meandros style, sometimes referred to as the Hellenic Key after the Meander River which was twisty and doubled onto itself, giving a symbolic meaning to the key of the eternal flow of life. The handles on the lids are constructed from the coil of a gilt scaled serpent making the pair so very apothecary.

• From the Phisick collection